Album Review: Neon Trees – Pop Psychology
2 min read
Neon Trees are an American pop/rock band known for their cool and quirky style. Almost more renowned for their live shows than their albums, Neon Trees have toured with The Killers, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Maroon 5, Owl City and Taylor Swift to name a few. Their two smash singles Animal and Everybody Talks have both gone double platinum, and been covered on the hit television show Glee. Whilst they may have formed back in 2005, Neon Trees are proof that things get better as they age, and big things are expected from their third studio album Pop Psychology.
Pop Psychology starts off with guns blazing, with the fun number Love In The 21st Century. This track is quintessentially everything we have come to expect from Neon Trees; a lively song with a catchy hook and pop goodness abound. The following songs Text Me In The Morning, Teenager In Love and I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends) show Neon Trees’ penchant for synth beats created by an electronic keyboard. These songs all follow the same formula as Love In The 21st Century, and as a result can all sound quite similar. But each track has a quirky charm with an infectious chorus that sits perfectly with its bubblegum pop nature. The lead single from the album, Sleeping With A Friend, may make the audience nostalgic with its 80s inspired vibe, and it’s difficult not to sing along to this addictive mid-tempo tune.
Unavoidable is one of the highlights on Pop Psychology as it offers something completely different; it’s a duet between frontman Tyler Glenn and drummer Elaine Bradley. This track is more stripped back and allows the listener to really listen to the lyrics and vocals, rather than be distracted by the overwhelming pop melodies of the previous songs. Unavoidable showcases brillant harmonies from the singers, and is a welcome addition to the album. Voices In The Halls is the only ballad on Pop Psychology and is quite nicely done. It features fantastic vocals from the amazing Glenn, but could have done without the random synth beat interludes.
Living In Another World and First Things First move away from this idea of ‘bubblegum pop’ and play more with the pop/rock genre. These tracks offer great variety on the album and still manage to keep the Neon Trees trademark of being super catchy, with just the right amount of synth undertones setting the foundation.
Pop Psychology is a good effort from Neon Trees. I feel that if the track listing had been changed up a little, the listener wouldn’t end up feeling as though this album was just the ‘same old same old’ from this eccentric band. Despite this, Pop Psychology offers up an album full of fun and catchy tunes that are bound to put a smile on your face.
